Not So Funny

It's April Fool's Day once again. Ten years ago we had a Fool's Day incident that was anything but funny. The house was full of children, some playing toys and some gathered around the dining room table doing school work. I was in the kitchen when I heard Josiah, then 10 years old, cry out. I found him squatting by the wall with both hands over his right eye. He had been poked in the eye with a freshly sharpened pencil, but at the time I had no clue as to whether it was the pointed end or the eraser. Joe couldn't open his eye to show me, so I let him rest and told him to come show me when he was able.

To make a very long story short, we spent the better part of the afternoon at the eye doctor's office and all evening at Strong Memorial Hospital. The pencil had penetrated Joe's cornea and also hit his lens. The opthamologist stitched up his cornea and Joe spent two days in the hospital where he played endless games of Mario while they watched him for signs of infection. He came home with dark glasses, too many gifts to mention, and a myriad of eye drops. A month later he underwent cateract surgery. While still in the hospital he was shown an eye chart and asked what he could see. His response, "All I can see is a blur." My days were so busy back then that I often felt all I could see was a blur too. Ten years later both Joe and I are able to see much clearer and I look forward to a much less eventful April Fool's.

Note: It was brought to my attention that this incident occurred not on April 1, but April 2. Ooops!)